Holt Ramsey and the Shaverstone Boy

Title: A Good Marriage Author: Stephen King ISBN: 9781439192597

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So here is what happened. Just when Darcy thinks she is safe, a man named Holt Ramsey shows up at her door. He is a retired investigator who has been tracking “Beadie” for decades. He tells Darcy that he always suspected Bob.

He lays out his theory and tells her about the Shaverstone boy, a victim from years ago. He shares a horrific detail that was never in the papers. He knows Bob was the one who did it. He knows her husband was the monster.

The Realization

Ramsey did not just come to talk about Bob. He came to see Darcy. He looks at her and he knows. He realizes that Darcy was the one who pushed him down those stairs. He knows she killed him to end the nightmare.

Darcy is terrified. She thinks her life is over and she is going to jail. But Ramsey does something unexpected. He decides to let her go. He sees what she did as closure. He thinks the world is better off with Bob in the ground and Darcy living her life.

The Weight of Truth

Even though she is not going to jail, she cannot un-know the things Ramsey told her. She has to live with the knowledge of exactly how evil her husband was. She has to live with the fact that a total stranger saw right through her.

Ramsey leaves, and Darcy is left alone again. But it is a different kind of alone. She is no longer hiding from everyone. She knows there is at least one person out there who knows the truth. And for some reason, that makes her feel safer.

Previous: A Funeral for a Nice Guy Next: Reclaiming Darcy and Letting the Ghost Go